bridging the everyday to the global effects on our environment

The results are in and I wish it were all a joke

I woke up this morning and checked my phone around 6am: Britain votes for Brexit, the headline stated.

I actually said out loud: “are you kidding me?” My bedding was too speechless to answer.

The feeling of sickness immediately pervaded my body.

It is now the afternoon and it’s still there.

It is a sensation of unease, discomfort and desperation, similar to…

…having a rash in a really inconvenient place | a massive spot on the day of a presentation to a group of people | having an itchy arse on a packed train | accidentally biting into a mouldy sarnie | diarrhoea on a long haul flight | realising you have a nut allergy during a visit to a Snickers factory | hiccups during a very serious speech | realising the pair of rubber gloves you are wearing have a hole, while cleaning the dirtiest loo you’ve ever seen | getting soaked on the start of a rainy festival with no access to sunshine – yet worse.

Aliens might be watching us: they must think the human race is a really dirty, Earth-destroying, ridiculous species where a few tyrants govern the masses.

I am really sad that though the EU is not perfect, the majority of people who voted in Britain were seemingly blinded by lies told by biased media, and let these lying promises play on feelings of an undealt-with intolerance complex, fear and negative pride with a high price to pay for our generation and future generations, who will not be able to enjoy the benefits of being part of the European Union. A union!
This is what originally got me: why would we want to break away from a union created to be stronger together, cooperate, make travelling to other countries easier, prevent wars amongst other benefits? Why didn’t we give ourselves credit, and a chance to reform it and improve it from within?

The YouGov Poll also showed 75% of young people, people who will be most affected by the change, and for longer, voted Remain.

I am not a financial expert, I am not a historian either.
But I can read, and did read and listen to what both experts and non-experts of different fields thought about Brexit, and the potential implications.
Though I originally looked into it all and made my mind up on my own, I must admit the simple fact that Donald Trump supported Brexit, together with Farage and other people I usually fundamentally disagree with, did nothing but reinforce my personal opinion.

Knowing that my European Union friends now have a feeling of being unwelcome truly breaks my heart and saddens me.
I am particularly sorry I didn’t talk to my Nan sooner: she said she was fed up with the issues going on in her area – she lives not far from Luton. So she bought the lie she was sold, she believed that these issues could be solved by leaving, no longer being part of the EU – though they mostly mot even involve EU citizens! How deceiving.

Travel: I am not a fan of carbon emissions caused by it, though the most damaging thing you can do to the environment is to be eating meat. The benefits of travelling far outweigh any negatives: to me, it’s about going out of your comfort zone and looking around: look! People are different, yet may share the same hopes and dreams as you or you mates, going somewhere unknown is about staying humble and learning about these differences, being inspired or appreciating what you give for granted back at home, hearing and learning to speak another language, – which itself enables the human mind to have different mindsets and points of view – languages, and the brain, are truly fascinating parts of our life.

It’s about broadening your mental horizons and your arms to love more places on earth, love more people, deepen the appreciation of feeling a different atmosphere, breathing different air, have feelings of excitement of exploration, getting lost and experiencing something you’ll never forget and will become a fond memory for the rest of your life. Giving you the opportunity to feel things which will tweak you from the inside and leave an inner insight which might have no wordy explanation but will stay with you for the rest of your life and shape you as a human being.

By leaving the EU, I’m afraid there will inevitably be an addition of obstacles between the UK and opportunities to travel, work and live in the EU. Things won’t be as straightorward. Man-made borders will have an effect on these potential opportunities of priceless growth. My nephew and my cousins’ children will have fewer chances to do this, fees are very likely to be a lot higher should they want to study abroad. That breaks my heart.
Changes are now underway and people are going to be affected.The environment – and therefore the people – will be affected.

Today, for the first time in my life, I am not proud of being (partially) British. I feel sick for it. (And sorry, and disappointed.) I don’t think of my Italian passport as quite so useless anymore.

It may have been a defence mechanism that first lead me to think: “Great, now I officially have a reason to try to move to Canada, at least for a while”.
But perhaps what my flatmate Sam said is true. This is the time to stay. Perhaps this really is the time for us to try to save Britain from itself.

Let’s fill it with consideration, altruism, sense, respect for others and the environment we all share, and education.
However hard, and no matter how many obstacles there may be, I will hopefully always choose to build bridges, not walls. 🙂